The Cup Series has not raced at this iconic venue since 1996.
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For the first time since 1996, the NASCAR Cup Series is returning to North Wilkesboro Speedway. The speedway announced the return of the event on Thursday morning.
Motorsport.com and The Athletic were first to report that the iconic North Carolina track was expected to play host to the 2023 Cup Series All-Star Race.
Speedway Motorsports president Marcus Smith, Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr., North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell, Charlotte Motor Speedway EVP and general manager Greg Walter are taking part in a Thursday press conference on the steps of the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh to announce the news.
North Wilkesboro Speedway first hosted a NASCAR Cup Series race in 1949, and Jeff Gordon, a Hall of Famer and Hendrick Motorsports executive, was the last Cup Series winner at the track.
Over the past 26 years, there have been pushes for NASCAR to return. Earnhardt Jr. led volunteers in cleaning the venue back in 2019 so it could be scanned for iRacing.
In the state budget passed in November, $18 million went toward repairing infrastructure at the historic track. Speedway Motorsports had a multimillion-dollar renovation project planned, which included repaving.
On Aug. 3, a race was held that drew approximately 9,000 people to North Wilkesboro Speedway, and last week, Earnhardt Jr. competed in a Late Model race in front of a sold-out audience. The track was supposed to see two months of racing this year, but XR Events confirmed the cancellation of October dirt races on Wednesday.
According to Sports Business Journal’s Adam Stern, Fox Sports wants to see the sport move to grassroots tracks.
This season, Ryan Blaney won the All-Star race in Texas.
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